Heat treating furnace



Y Jan. 14, 19x41.` R, Q GUTHRIE 2,228,564

` PIIEAT TREATING FURNACE Filed Aug. 4, 1.939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented VJan. 14, 1941 t'JNITED Y sTATlzsl e n 2,228,564 naar Tammo FURNACE lltobertG. Guthrie, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Chicago By-Products ('Jorporation,v a corporation of illinois alternation august t, 11939, serial No. 288,303

ya claims.

My invention relates, generally, to furnaces in which metal may be heat treated, and it particularly provides la. heat treating furnace wherein the metal to be heat treated is openly exposed to the interior of the furnace and is continuously surrounded or bathedin an atmosphere of controlledcomposition Without the provision of niuflies to keep the burner gases from the metal.

Metals, such as steel, are heat treated at high temperatures in atmospheresl of controlled compositions, to give desired properties `to the metal. Heat treating is a general term used in the art to include carburization, decarburization, bright annealing'and other like metal treatments, For the different types of ,heat treatment, the metal must be disposed `in Vatmospheres ,of various closely controlled compositions. ASuch atmospheres are usually made up of gases such as nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and traces of' othergases. By using different proportions of these gases, atmospheres are made up for different types of heat treatment. The various types of atmospheres used are well understood in the art and need not be further described as their particular compositions are not part of the present invention.

For successful heat treatment, two conditions must be maintained. First, the metal to be heat treated must be maintained at a high temperature, and, second, theI metal must be exposed to the proper atmosphere of controlled composition. Heretofore,'it has been necessaryto place the metal to be heat treated inside'of muflies which are placed in a furnace in order to keepthe burner gases from contaminating the controlledv atmospheres and contacting the metal. The desired atmosphere is continuously passed through the mufes. In vthis wayv the combustion gases from the furnace 'burners do not contaminate the controlled atmopsheres. This islvery` important, since material contamination of these Y, atmospheres. would adversely affect the heat il. S56-5) idly deteriorate. That i-s, they are said to burn out. t will be seen, then, that it would be very desirable to be able to heat treat metals in `furnaces Without the use of muilles.

An important object of` my invention is to heat treat metals openly in a furnace at high temperatures. in an atmosphere of controlled composition.4 without being placed within muilles.

Another very important object of my invention is to provide a heat treating furnace wherein metal to-be heat treated may be openly placed within the furnace through which an atmosphere of controlled 'composition is passed, the combustion gases from thefurnace burners being removed beforemixing with or contaminating the main bodyfof the atmosphere passing through theffurnace. f y

lAnotherl very important object of my invention is to heat a heat treating furnace with vsurface combustion burners having the burner combustion products ,removed directly from the burner surface without 'shooting out into the furnace interior, the furnace heating being obtained by radiation from an 'incandescent burner surface. f

Still another important object of my `invention is to provide a metal heat treating furnace through which an atmosphere of controlled composition maybe continuously circulated without being objectionably contaminated with the products of combustion fromv burners for heating the furnace.

Other objects of my invention will, in part, bey obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

Accordingly, Ymyinvention is disclosed in the embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying 'drawings-and it comprises the features of construction, the combination of elementsand arrangement of parts which will'be exemplified in they constructions hereinafterz set forth, and the scope .of the application of which will vbein dicated in the appended claims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of my invention reference may -be had to nthe `following detailed. description, taken in` connection Withthe .accompanying drawings, in which: v

Figure 1 is a side view, in vertical section of a heat treating furnace illustrating one embodiment of my invention adapted for batch or inter mittent'operation; f

Figure 2 is a. sectional view taken on 'line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure-3 isa vertical sectionaly view taken on line 3--3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a' vertical sectional view like Figure 3 of another embodiment of my invention; and Figure 5 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of my invention showing a heat treating furnace adaptedfor continuous operation, part of the furnace being broken away to show its interior.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, a furnace is shown generally at I9 in which I6 is provided as shown for closing the front of the furnace. A wall "I1 is spaced from the rear wall I3, having ports I9 provided therein.

With a view to heating the furnace I9 and the work II by radiation without objectional contamination by combustion gases, burners 20 of the surface combustion type are provided in the side walls I4 as shown. -T'he burners 29 may be fed from fuel supply lines 2|. The burner heads 22 are of a construction whereby true surface combustion may be obtained. 'Ihe principle of surface combustion is well understood in the art. l Generally stated, it is obtained by breaking up a combustible gas mixture into a multitude of fine streams or currents :by passing through a porous burner head. What may be termed point com bustion is obtained at the burner surface, -and the burner surface becomes heated to incandescence. 22, the velocity of -the gases is small, which prevents them from flowing far into the chamber of the furnace I0. The burner heads 22 may be of several different types. vRefractory porous block make one very suitable type of burner head 22. 'I'heporosi-ty might be obtained by drilling a multitude o f very small holes in a refractory block, or a block may be made up having combustible material incorporated therein and having thismaterlal burned out to leave very small pores or holes. Still another type of burner head 22 may be made by packing crystals of high melting point, such as zirconium silcate, into layers of desired thickness. v The interstices between. the crystals provided the small passageways for fine pores.

As pointed out above, it is necessary -in heat treatment that the work II be subjected to an atmosphere of controlled composition according to whatever type of= heat treating is being carried out'in the furnace I9. To accomplish this, a

blower 25 may be provided driven by a motor 29 for circulating atmosphere of controlled composition through the furnace I9. The blower 29 ismprovided with a` discharge 21 and an intake 23.

The atmosphere is discharged into the upper front end of the furnace Itas indicated at 39,

and sweepsdown over the work II, and out the back of the furnace III through the ports I3 -in the wall I1. 'I'he atmosphere is drawn of from the'back of the .furnace Ill through a pipe 3I and drawn info the blower-2s through the intake n to be discharged again through the discharge 21.

In this manner the work II is ,continuously bathed or exposed to the desired atmosphere. A

control valve.32 may be provided in the pipe 3I-- to regulate the flow of the atmosphere. Anatmosphere vmake -up line 33 maybe connected with the pipe 3l as shown with a` shut-off valve 34 provided therein.y The composition of the atmosphere circulated through the furnace I9\ by the blowerv 25 may be controlled by addition,

from time t'o'time", o'f the desired gas constituents from-the atmosphere 'make up line 3.3.

It will be understood that the atmosphere may After passing through the burner heads f be circulated through the furnace I9 in any desii-ed direction. That is, it can be forced through thev furnace I9 by .the blower 29 from rear to front, instead of from front to rear, as shown in the drawings.

-With a view of ascertaining the manner in which the combustion gases from the burners 20 are taken olf, reference may now be had to Figure 3 of the drawings. Otak'e vents 35 are provided for discharging into ilues 39 running longitudinally along each side of the furnace I0 and across the,back, as shown. A stack 31 (not shown in Figure 1 of the drawings) is provided to draw oif the 'combustion gases from the ilues 39. The combustion gases rise alongthe side walls I4, as illustrated, and pass through the offtake vents 35 into the nues 39, and are discharged through the stack 31.

The burner heads 22 may be recessed in the side walls I4 or roof I9 with an open-sided flue leading therefrom into the off-takel vents 35. Also, if desired, off-take'vents may lead oif just above the tops of the burner heads 22 through l the side walls I4. Other various arrangements may be used to take oif the burner combustion gases before they contaminate the circulating atmosphere.

In operation, the surfaces of the burner heads 22 become heated to incandescence whereby the furnace III and the work are heated substantially entirely by radiation;I The controlled atmosphere passes continuously over the work I I as described above, while the combustion gases rise along the side walls I4 and are taken oil.' through the stack 31. The controlled., atmosphere is preferably maintained at a pressure somewhat above atmospheric so that small amountsy may diffuse through thefurnace I0 or be carried oif with the products of combustion. By thus losing slight amounts of the atmosphere it isV more perfectly prevented from being contaminated.-

I'he circulation of the atmosphere at such a slight excess pressure, and having the combustion gases rising along the side walls I4, prevent the main body of the atmosphere from becoming contaminated with`the combustion gases and. leakage from the outside. Thus, the work II may be openly ,heated treated in the furnace I0 withoutl the provision of the usual muiiles.

Referring now to Figure "4 of the drawings, a furnace is 'shown generally at 49 substantially of the construction of furnace I9, but somewhat modified. The vfurnace 49 comprises a floor 4I and side 'walls 42 having surface combustion burners 43 placed therein. In addition, a surface combustion burner 43r is also provided in the roof of the furnacev 49. Combustion gases from th'e burners 43 and the side walls 42 are taken oif through the otake vents 44 between the side walls 42 and the depending bailles 45 into the ilues 49. Combustion gases from the top burner 43 surrounded by a shallow recess or socket 41 are the combustion gases are discharged from the" exhaust fan 49 through the discharge 52. 'I'he degree of suction for removing the combustion gasesA may be controlled by regulation of the ex- 'haustffan 49 as desired. The operation of the furnace' 49 is essentially the same as that of the furnace I0 of Figures l., 2, and 3 of the drawings.

generally at 55. The continuous furnace 55 comprises a main furnace body 56 with a loading and removal chamber 51 communicating therewith.

The main furnace body 56 may be heated by surface combustion burners 58 just as furnaces II and 40 of Figures l, 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings are likewise heated by surface combustion burners. Work 59 to be heat treated is carried by a conveyor 60 through the'fnrnace 55. Various types of conveyors or pushers may be used depending .on furnace design and the type of work to be heat treated. For example, the work may be pushed through the furnace w, from end to end, on trays carried on small trucks or dollies. An atmosphere of controlled composition is continuously circulated through the furnace body 56 and the combustion gases from the burners 68 are removed just as the atmospheres were circulated and the combustion gases removed in connection with furnaces I and 40 of Figures 1, 2,

3, and 4.

'it will be understood that my invention may be adapted to many types' of furnace designs otherrthan those shown in the drawings, the principle being the same. Various types of surface combustionburners may be used and these may be disposed in each particular different position in the interior of the furnace/depending on design. i

Since certain further changes may be madein the foregoing constructions, and different ernbodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope. thereof, it is intended that all matter shown in the accompanying drawings or described hereinbefore shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. A heat treating furnace comprising an ob-L long closed chamber lhaving side walls of greater length than the end walls, the side walls containing one or more burner elements, said burner elements consisting of surface combustion units having incandescent faces exposed to. project radiant heat inwardly toward the center of the furnace, means for supplying a combustible gas and air mixture to theburner elements to maintain combustionin said units, the products of combustion being discharged from said faces of the units into the furnace, and rising along the side walls, the furnace having outlet openings substantially directly above each of the burner elements for evacuation of the products of combustion, means for supplying an artificial controlled atmosphere to the furnace independently of the burner elements, a part of which artificial atmosphere escapes through said outlet openings with the products of combustion, and means for circulating said artificial atmosphere through the furnace.

2. A heat treating furnace comprising an oblong closed heat treating chamber, said chamber having side walls of greater length than the end walls, the side walls having one or more surface combustion burner elements having faces adapted to be brought to incandescence, said faces'being exposed and directed to project radiant heat toward the central part of the furnace chamber where the products to be heated are adapted to be disposed, means for supplying a combustible gas and air mixture to the burner elements to maintain the faces of said surface combustion elements at incandescence to promote the emission of radiant heat, the products of combustion of said units being discharged from said exposed faces of the units-into the furnace and rising along the side walls, the furnace having outlet openings above the burner elements to evacuate the products of combustion from the burner rising along the sides of the chamber, and means forl supplying a continuous flow of gas independent of said products of combustion longitudinally of the chamber between said upwardly flowing streams of products of combustion of said burners, said flow of gas constituting an artiiicial controlled atmosphere for occupying the central part of said chamber independent of said products of combustion, a part of said artificial atmosphere escaping through each of said outlet openings with the products of combustion.

ROBERT G. lGrUTHRIE. 

